Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the two big states, but Kerala and Pondicherry also share the water of Kaveri river, but more than 90 percent of the water is shared between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, so it becomes more turbulent in both the states. As a result of the Bengaluru bandh, there have been no major incidents of violence or attacks in both the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but since this issue is very sensitive, there may be a major flare-up. Whatever may happen, the peace in both the states may be disturbed as riots have also erupted in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery water dispute in the past.
The issue of sharing of Cauvery river water, which has been at the heart of the dispute between the two largest states of South India, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has flared up again for years. The Cauvery Water Management Authority has ordered the Karnataka government to release five thousand cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu. The Karnataka government went to the Supreme Court against this order, but as the Supreme Court did not accept their objection, Karnataka has to let go. Due to this, several organizations in Karnataka jumped to take advantage of the opportunity and have raised the alarm that injustice is being done to Karnataka.
Farmer organizations have started protesting that releasing water for Tamil Nadu will not get irrigation water in Karnataka. Farmers' organizations also announced Bengaluru bandh. As a result, there was sporadic violence and there were attacks targeting Tamils. As the attacks started in Karnataka, there was a reaction of action in Tamil Nadu as well. Attacks have also started in Tamil Nadu by targeting the people of Kannadigas i.e. Karnataka.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the two big states, besides Kerala and Pondicherry, but more than 90 percent of the water is shared between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, so there is a lot of confusion in both the states. At present, there have been no major incidents of violence or attacks in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but since this issue is very sensitive, there may be a major flare-up. Whatever may happen, the peace in both the states may be disturbed as riots have also erupted in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery water dispute in the past.
The dispute over the sharing of Cauvery river water is very old. Independent India has inherited this dispute since this dispute had become heated during the rule of the British. The reason for the dispute is the extent of the Cauvery river. Cauvery river originates in Karnataka but its basin area is greater in Tamil Nadu. It means that Cauvery flows more in Tamil Nadu than in Karnataka. The Cauvery river basin in Karnataka is 32,000 square kilometers while in Tamil Nadu it is 44,000 square kilometers.
Before the Jawaharlal Nehru government created states on the basis of language in 1956, most of Karnataka was in Mysore State and most of Tamil Nadu was in Madras State. After the rebellion of 1857, when areas of both Mysore and Madras states came under the direct control of the British government, plans were made to dam the Cauvery river, but the work did not begin. The British later gave the Mysore State to the Wadiyar Rajas while maintaining direct control by creating a Presidency in Madras. In 1891, Wadiyar put forward a proposal to build a dam on the Cauvery river, but the British officials objected, so the matter stalled. After a decade of talks, finally in 1892 the two states signed an agreement in principle to build the dam.
The construction of this dam was slow in the beginning but after the great engineer Vishwasaraiah became the Chief Engineer in Mysore, the work progressed rapidly but the dakhas also started in front. Vishwasaraiya proposed to build a dam of 41.5 TMC in Karnataka, while Madras has announced to build a dam of 80 TMC in its area. Vishwasaraiya requested the British government to resolve the dispute, so the British government appointed an arbitrator. After listening to both the states, the British government allowed Mysore to build a dam of 11 TMC in 1914. The British officials had objections against it but could not speak against their own government so they kept silent.
After the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam was built in 1924 with the efforts of Vishwasaraiya, a dispute started over who should get how much water from the dam. The British asked to give 566 TMC of water to the areas of Tamil Nadu, 177 TMC to the areas of Karnataka and 5 TMC to the areas of Kerala. It was implemented during the British rule but after independence in 1956 when the states were formed, the new areas sought fresh water sharing awards.
Negotiations to resolve the dispute between the states began and took years. The matter also went to the Supreme Court. Following the order of the Supreme Court, the VP Singh government formed the tribunal in 1990. Before the tribunal, Karnataka claimed 465 TMC while Kerala demanded 99.8 TMC, Union Puducherry also demanded 9.3 TMC while Tamil Nadu insisted on continuing the 1924 formula.
When the tribunal made an interim award in 1991, riots erupted and the case went back to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court gave its final verdict in 2018 after years of legal battle, Tamil Nadu and other states accepted it but Karnataka did not, so the dispute has not ended.
Amid this controversy, the Tamil Nadu government constructed a new dam on the Cauvery at Mittur, so a new controversy has arisen. The Tamil Nadu government has built a dam to prevent the overflow of monsoon water, but its complaint is that Karnataka is not releasing enough water, so the dam is not being filled. Controversy continues on this issue as well.
Controversies like Cauvery have taken place in other states too but gradually those controversies have calmed down. As the sharing of Cauvery water in Karnataka has been made a political issue, the controversy does not subside. There is no problem when there is a normal rain, but as soon as there is a slight decrease in water, the problem arises. Politicians inflame people for their own benefit so this controversy does not go away.
The Cauvery dispute is a result of parochial regionalism. Unfortunately people have also fallen prey to narrow mindedness. We Indians say we are one but do not rise above such petty disputes. Whatever the politicians say, if people give up this narrow mindedness, the controversy will end.
The Supreme Court has given a verdict giving more water to Karnataka
In its final judgment in 2018 to find a permanent solution to the Cauvery water dispute, the Supreme Court ordered that more water be given to Karnataka from the Cauvery river. The Supreme Court also ordered the central government to create a Cauvery Management Scheme and submit it to the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute over the distribution of Cauvery water, apart from reducing the amount of water that Tamil Nadu receives.
In its final judgment, the Supreme Court has asked Tamil Nadu to reduce the 419 TMC water by 14.75 TMC and give it 404.25 TMC water. This water gets to Karnataka so Karnataka gets a total of 284.75 TMC of water. It was also ordered to provide 30 TMC water to Kerala and 7 TMC to Puducherry. The Supreme Court ruled that 10 TMC of water goes to the sea for protection of the environment and 4 TMC of water goes into the sea, not to be counted.
Following the order of the Supreme Court, the Central Government formed the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee in 2018. The committee decides how much water to release based on the rainfall and if there is any objection, it can be taken to the authority. Disputes should be resolved after this arrangement, but due to the selfishness of politicians, disputes arise every year.
Vajpayee's solution to the interlinking of rivers problem
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's river interlinking scheme has solved the water sharing disputes of the country's rivers. India gets plenty of water when the snow melts in early summer and rains in the monsoons. If the water is diverted into smaller rivers by interlinking the big rivers with the smaller rivers, both the water problem and the dispute will be solved.
Most small rivers in India dry up in summer. Water from big rivers goes to the sea and gets wasted. People can use it if they go to small rivers instead.
